Mississippi Advisory Opinions July 01, 1983: 19830701 (July 01, 1983)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mr. Ben J. Piazza, Jr.

Attorney for Claiborne County Registrar

Post Office Box 22845

Jackson, Mississippi 39205-2845

Re: Elections-Registration

Dear Mr. Piazza:

Attorney General Allain has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

Your letter states:

“As attorneys for Mrs. Julia Jones, Circuit Clerk and County Registrar, Claiborne County, Mississippi, we request the opinion of your office concerning the County Registrar's authority to remove the registration books from her office for the purpose of registering voters at other locations in the County.

“Mrs. Jones has received requests from various citizens of Claiborne County to establish temporary voting registration booths or offices on the campus of Alcorn State University, Lorman, Mississippi, and at a picnic ground in Pattison, Mississippi. Mrs. Jones would like to comply with these requests in order to assist the citizens of her County in registering for the forthcoming primary and general elections. However, the only authority, of which we are aware, authorizing the County Registrar to remove the voting registration books from her office is § 23-5-29, Miss. Code Ann. (1972) (a copy of which is attached hereto). For your further information, please be advised that neither the campus of Alcorn State University, nor the picnic grounds in question are Claiborne County voting precincts.

“We have advised Mrs. Jones, that upon proper order of the Board of Supervisors she may visit and spend not exceeding one day at any voting precinct in her County, not less than four months before a particular election for the purpose of registering voters, but that she may not remove the registration books to the two locations mentioned above, even were this to be within the allowable time period, because neither location is a voting precinct of Claiborne County, Mississippi.

“Please give us the opinion of your office, at your earliest convenience, as to the correctness of our interpretation of this statute.”

In response to your inquiry, we agree that Mississippi Code Annotated § 23-5-29 (1972) authorizes the removal of the voter registration books from the office of the county registrar only upon order of the board of supervisors to visit and spend not exceeding one day at any voting precinct in the county and that such visits must be made not less than four months before the regular county and general election. Furthermore, we know of no other authority which would allow the removal of the voter registration books other than in the above-prescribed manner.

Therefore, the county registrar may not lawfully establish temporary voter registration booths or offices anywhere except voting precincts and at voting precincts only when timely ordered to do so by the board of supervisors in accordance with § 23-5-29.

Sincerely,

Bill Allain, Attorney General.